Quick question re Crimson Peak: I have yet to see it, and while I've heard that it's a gold modern gothic horror, I've also heard that it is one of del Toro's weaker films. Do you have any thoughts on it that could recommend the movie for me?

costumes

fucking PRODUCTION VALUES

mother SHIT THE DESIGN OF THIS MOVIE IS FLAWLESS

ghosts are done with like 90% practical effects and damn do I love a ghost that feels corporeal

complex characters

LUCILLE SHARPE HOLY FUCK JESSICA CHASTAIN

it’s not a horror movie it’s a gothic romance and a feminist deconstruction of the gothic romance genre at that

it pays glorious homage to the gothic romance genre while being fresh and interesting

like there’s the scene where you’re thinking “oh great, the helpless damsel being rescued by her dashing hero” BUT NO, OHH NO MY MAN GUILLERMO FLIPS IT ON ITS HEAD. NOT ONLY DOES SHE SAVE THE HERO, SHE SAVES HERSELF

like it openly steps away from some of the grosser tropes of the genre while still retaining all the things that make the genre interesting and distinctive in the first place, and then manages to fashion something entirely unique

the new world/old world divide and how the aristocratic sharpes can’t move on and the commentary on those fucked up values

and there’s the question of how child abuse can twist a person

the moral ambiguity of the characters is really sublime because you can pity them and understand what they did while still being repulsed by them

did I mention lucille sharpe

the symbolism and metaphors wreathing this movie hnnngh

I mean yes I would agree that Crimson Peak is not as strong as my man guillermo’s spanish films but it is still an extraordinary work of art that I never get tired of looking at

plus if you like the devil’s backbone, his treatment of ghosts - or his philosophy behind them - is pretty much the same in CP

holy shit I love this movie

I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I’m this close to getting a moth or the sharpe coat of arms tattooed on my ass